This Week!

We’ll tell you how iPhone’s Smart HDR takes pics better than cameras costing thousands, and how a proper Apple Camera positively unstoppable. Plus: the Supreme court may force Apple to allow competing app stores; proposed levy’s on the iPhone could send prices sky high; and Apple says the XR is one of their best selling iPhones ever.

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Notes and Links:

Apple has been running a reduced cost battery replacement program in response to customer complaints about battery gate, but this offer ends on December 31, 2018. After that, replacing an iPhone battery will cost you $49 for the iPhone 8 and older, or $69 for the iPhone X, iPhone XS family, and iPhone XR

Apple’s legal team could soon be headed to the U.S. Supreme Court to face an anti-trust case being levied against the company.

U.S. Supreme Court justices heard an hour of arguments for an anti-trust lawsuit against Appletoday. The nine justices appeared to be open to letting the lawsuit move up to the highest court in the U.S. and it could bring huge changes to the App Store if Apple loses.

Apple is being accused of breaking federal antitrust laws by monopolizing the way applications are installed on the iPhone. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit claim that Apple’s 30% cut on all sales in the App Store are causing consumers to overpay.

Lead plaintiff Robert Pepper of Chicago argued that Apple’s App Store monopoly leads to inflated prices because developers have to account for Apple’s 30% fee. The plaintiffs want Apple to open up iOS so apps can be installed from sources other than the App Store.

Pres. Trump told the Wall Street Journal, that he’s prepared to put tariffs on all products being shipped from China that don’t already have them. And he’s also ready to raise the import fees on items already taxed from 10 percent to 25 percent.

When the WSJ asked if that includes handsets like the iPhone as well as notebook computers, he said “Depends on what the rate is, I can make it 10%, and people could stand that very easily.”